Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 01:38:00 11/21/2009
Filed Under: Politics, Elections, Eleksyon 2010
MANILA, Philippines – The Liberal Party is not letting go of Ralph Recto even as it tries to win back former Sen. Sergio Osmeña III, who has bolted in protest of the former socioeconomic planning secretary’s inclusion in its senatorial slate.LP campaign manager Florencio Abad said Friday that when he last spoke with Osmeña, the latter had not sought Recto’s removal from the ticket.
Not that, Abad said in a phone interview, the party would do it.
“They’re already with us,” Abad said of Recto and his wife, Batangas Gov. Vilma Santos. “It’s not a wise thing to get them out when they’re already in.”
Abad reiterated that the LP, together with “friends and relatives,” were exhausting efforts to reconcile with and retain Osmeña, a former senator like Recto, and who is also listed in the party’s senatorial slate.
“But at the end of the day, it’s [Osmeña’s] decision,” he conceded.
Never say ‘never’
Osmeña himself said he was going—but not yet.
“I am leaving,” he said on the phone. “Nothing has been done to make me change my mind so far.”
But when asked about the chances of his staying in the LP, Osmeña said: “It’s hard for me to say [because I] never say ‘never.’ I would say 5 percent.”
Abad said he and other LP members got to see Osmeña on Thursday night, at a party fund-raising event where the latter’s wife was a “prime mover.”
But Abad said he only got to exchange pleasantries with Osmeña. He also expressed doubt that the latter was able to speak with the LP standard-bearer Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III.
On Thursday, Osmeña confirmed that he left the party because he did not want Recto in the LP lineup.
He said the latter, who headed the National Economic and Development Authority, did nothing to expose the shenanigans in President Macapagal-Arroyo’s administration.
Osmeña said he was “fed up with the inside fighting, with the Mafia” in the LP.
He also cried double-cross, saying party officials had kept him “in the dark” about their decision to include Recto in the senatorial slate despite his having expressed his objections.
‘Certain debates’
Commenting on Osmeña’s remarks, Abad said: “We underestimated his deep sentiments about his objections.”
Abad also said the decision to recruit Recto and Santos was a result of party deliberations.
He said party officials considered, among others, the fact that Batangas was a “big” and “important” province, and that it was the only province in the Southern Tagalog region where the LP had no strong base.
As for the infighting, Abad said there were “certain debates within the party.”
He said there were “idealists” and “pragmatists,” adding that Aquino and his running mate, Sen. Manuel “Mar” Roxas, had drawn not only liberals but also members of civil society and party-list groups.
After all, he said, “you want to wrest support.”
But as a result, the broad political forces within the party “produce ideas” over which “not all are in agreement,” Abad said.
‘Valuable asset’
This is why the party tries to make a “delicate balancing act,” he said, adding:
“It’s a healthy debate. It’s important to have the element of dreaming and winning.”
Asked about the effect of Osmeña’s departure, Abad said the former senator was a “valuable asset” and a “veteran policy maker, hardworking, and a sharp analyst of surveys and political developments.”
“He will certainly be a loss,” Abad said.
Former Senate President Franklin Drilon, the LP national chair and also part of its senatorial slate, said he had not spoken with Osmeña about the latter’s move.
He said “it remains to be seen” what would happen next.
“But we have to move on in our effort to effect change and to convince our people that we deserve their support,” he added.
Drilon also said he was unaware of “serious conflicts in the party,” and that he was not at all surprised that its detractors would try to make such allegations.
Goodbye
Osmeña said he had personally said goodbye to Aquino at a meeting on Monday.
Asked about their parting words, he said: “I don’t want to divulge confidential conversations.”
He said his departure from the LP had no impact on party unity but on the way people perceived Aquino’s image as a presidential candidate.
Osmeña also said the choice of Recto as one of the LP’s senatorial hopefuls had affected many party members, who “are just keeping quiet.”
“But you know, if the party continues to do this, I expect open manifestations of protests,” he said.
Asked to identify the members of the so-called LP Mafia, Osmeña described them as “those surrounding Noynoy” who had an influence on his decisions.
But he refused to name them: “Not at this time. If they will respond, then I will name names.”
Osmeña said he would rather run as independent than be part of the party with Recto in it because of the latter’s association with Ms Arroyo.
But he clarified that “it’s not Recto per se.”
“I told them not to destroy the image of the party and of Noynoy because the people expect a higher standard of behavior now of Noynoy. They see in him the values of Tita Cory,” Osmeña said, referring to the late President Corazon Aquino, the senator’s mother.
“So if we go back and ... [do what] traditional politicians do, there would be no difference between them and Noynoy,” he said.
At press time, Osmeña said he would run for senator as an independent so that he would not be “beholden to any group,” and that his “debt of gratitude” would be only to the country.
Source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20091121-237502/LP-not-letting-Recto-go-tries-to-win-back-Osmena
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